Dusty: A maximum ride novel
by MageRilyn
Summary: I'm not good at summaries... Dusty lived with the flock for as long as she can remember. Starts in TAE. RR!
1. Chapter 1

"The more you have of it, the less you see. What is it?" Nudge asked me. She and I loved brain puzzles and riddles, so every night for, as long as I could remember, we asked each other a question.

"Not tonight, Nudge, I'm exhausted and really want to go to sleep!" I told her.

"C'mon, Dusty! It's tradition." She gave me Bambi eyes. Darn it.

I sighed. "Is it... Darkness?" I asked.

"Yep. Your turn."

I thought and said, "Fang loves this and Nudge knows nothing of it"- she narrowed her eyes-"And Dusty really wants it now. What is it?"

"Huh, is it silence?"

"Yes. Good night." I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep.

"Good night, then." Nudge laid down and soon she was sleeping soundlessly. I lied there in bed, trying to relax long enough to fall into the arms of Morpheus.

I loved my life here. It's so fun, with no grown ups, or schools, or the School. Just us (Max, Fang, Iggy, me, Nudge, Gasman, and Angel). And no one even knew we were here!

I shared my room with with Nudge (who was best friend) and Angel (the youngest). I was 13 years old, Nudge was 11, and Angel was 6. Max, Fang, and Iggy were 14, Gasman was 8. Max was our leader. Ever since Jed left, 2 years ago. We all believed he died, that was the only explanation. But I never told anyone this, but sometimes it felt like he wasn't dead. It was hard to explain. Anyway, Max took charge when Jed disappeared, and Fang was her right winged man. And that was the way things were.

_Who is so tried she can't keep her eyes open but is avoided by the Sandman. Me_. I thought. Well, I eventually found the void of sleep but it felt like forever later. And definitely didn't help how I felt when Max woke us up.

"Hey, sweeties, up and at 'em!" Max yelled. I groaned.

"20 more minutes, Max." I begged.

"You'll miss breakfast if you do that. Wake up, Dusty." She shook me gently. I sighed and sat up rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "I hate mornings." I mumbled as I stood.

"Don't we all." Max walked over to Nudge's bed. "Breakfast in 10." Max shook her shoulder.

"Wha'?" She blinked, her brown eyes struggling to focus on Max.

"Another day, get up and face it."

I helped Nudge wake up a little while Max checked on Angel. We walked down to the kitchen. Fang was setting the table, Gassy was pouring juice and Iggy was making eggs. Iggy may be blind but he is the best cook I know of, not that I know that many cooks. Nudge and I helped Fang and soon we were all sitting around the table eating.

"I want to go pick strawberries today." Angel said. "They're rip now."

"Okay, Angel, I'll go with you." Gasser said. Just then he 'let one rip' and giggled.

"Oh, jeez, Gassy." Max said.

"Gas...Mask!" Iggy choked out, he grasped his neck pretending to asphyxiate.

"I'm _done._" Fang said, getting up quickly and taking his plate to the sink.

"Oh, my..." I gasped.

"Sorry," Gasman said automatically.

"Yeah, Angel," said Nudge. "I think the _fresh air _would do us all good. I'll go too."

"We'll all go," Max said.

Outside, it was beautiful, clear and cloudless, and a little breeze. I tucked a strand of dark brown hair behind my ear. We carried buckets and baskets as Angel led us to a huge patch of wild strawberries. We stared picking, I ate a couple, just checking to see if it really was rip, and I heard Angel say something about strawberry shortcakes.

"Yeah that the day," Iggy said with out moving his lips. Hmmm. "When Max makes a cake, I'll make it, Angel."

Max whirled. "Oh, thank you!" She exclaimed. "Okay, I'm not a fabulous cook. But I can still kick your butt, and don't you forget it!"

Iggy was laughing, holding up his hands in denial. Nudge was trying not to laugh, I was laughing hard, holding my sides, even Fang, Mr. I-Never-Show-Emotion-Or-Say-Anything, was smiling, Gassy looked mischievous.

"Was that _you?" _Max asked him.

He grinned and shrugged. The Gasman was 3 when we realized he could mimic just about any sound or voice. I'd lost count of how many times Iggy and Fang had almost come to blows from Gassy saying stuff in their voices. It was a dark gift and he wielded it happily.

Angel, his biological sister, could read minds. I don't know how long she'd been able to do that, but, personally, it was not fun having her in your head all the time.

I guess that's how everybody felt about me. I had a specal gift for spying. There wasn't a secret in the world that I would not find out soon rather then later.

It was just another weid ability- most of us had them. Whatever they were, they sure made life more interesting.

In front of me, Angel froze and screamed.

And in the next second, men with wolfish muzzles, huge canines, and reddish, glinting eyes dropped out of the sky like spiders. Erasers!_ They'd found us!_

* * *

**I really hope you guys like that. Tell me what you think and if you have an ideas for the story!**


	2. Chapter 2

_Before:_

_In front of me, Angel froze and screamed._

_And in the next second, men with wolfish muzzles, huge canines, and reddish, glinting eyes dropped out of the sky like spiders. Erasers! _They'd found us!

* * *

There was no time to think- just to act. I launched myself at an Eraser and round house kick him as hard as I could in his barrel chest. His breath went _oof, _and the smell was just awful, like raw sewage left out in the sun.

The Eraser swung out with one clubbed paw. Even with my super-human fast reflexes, he cuff my cheek hard enough to spin me and make me hit the ground hard. He kicked me in the stomach. I jumped up, little dizzy, and manged to land a blow on him. The Eraser punched me and made my head snap around. A second Eraser kneed me in the gut and I doubled over. I scrambled to my feet, then saw Gassy out cold, lying face-down on the ground. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Fang holding his own against an Eraser- until two more ganged up on him.... Iggy was still upright, but one eye was already swelling shut.

The second Eraser kicked me down again. I tried to get up but he pushed me down. The first grinned evilly and stomped on my shoulder. I heard a sickening _pop_ followed by hellish pain. It was dislocated.

Dimly, I heard Angel screaming and Nudge crying.

I tried again to get up and one grabbed me from behind. He held me while the other punched me like a like a punching bag. They let go of me laughing like mad men, I crumbled to the ground. The pain was so revolting. One kicked me in the back of the head and the last thing I heard was Angel screaming, "Max!"

Then everything went black.

* * *

**I really hope you guys like that. Tell me what you think and if you have an ideas for the story!**


	3. Chapter 3

_Before:_

_I tried again to get up and one grabbed me from behind. He held me while the other punched me like a like a punching bag. They let go of me laughing like mad men, I crumbled to the ground. The pain was so revolting. One kicked me in the back of the head and the last thing I heard was Angel screaming, "Max!"_

_Then everything went black._

* * *

I opened my eyes, wondering what had happened, where I was, who was the president, when it all came flooding back. I sat up quickly and nearly vomited from the agony. I fell over and landed on my bad shoulder, I let out a small pained cry. "Dusty? What is it? What's wrong?" I heard Nudge's soft voice.

"My shoulder. I think it's dislocated." I whispered. I noticed that the others were waking up. Iggy heard my problem and lighter then a feather, he skimmed his fingers over my hurt shoulder.

"Yea, it's pretty out of place." He took my shoulder ever so gently and popped it back into place. I gasped but was fulled with so much relief. "Better?" He asked.

"Much!" I told him.

"Max?" The Gasman's voice was very young and scared. I stood and walked over to Max. She gave a horrible, low moan.

We were all leaning over her. And she saw the concern in our faces."I'm okay." She croaked. "Where's Angel?" I looked around realizing she was gone! _Oh-no!_

"She's gone." Fang said. "They took her."

Max looked like she might faint and I felt the same. I mean it may be annoying, her mind reading ability, but she was still like a sister to me and just a little girl! I remembered what they did to us there. And now.... She was there again.

Max stood shakily. She leaned against Fang. " We've got to get her," She said urgently. "We've got to get her before they--" Max gulped. "Check in, guys- are you up for a chase?" She examined us. We all must have looked like we were stuffed in a blender and set on "chop."

"Yes." Nudge said in a tear-choked voice.

"I'm up." said Iggy.

The Gasman nodded solemnly.

"You bet." I said.

Tears began to fill Max's eyes. She wiped them away with the back of her hand. Just then Iggy cocked his head slightly. It was a clue for us to start listening intently. Then I heard it too: a faint engine noise.

"_There!_" Iggy said, pointing.

The six of us ran clumsily toward the sound. A hundred yards through the woods brought us to a sharp drop-off maybe fifty feet above an old, unused logging road. Then I saw it: a black Humvee, dull with dust and mud, bumping roughly over the unpaved road. That had to be holding Angel. She was on her way to a place where death came as a blessing.

"Let's get her!" Max cried, then backed up about 10 feet. The others and I scurried out of her way as she ran to the edge and simply jumped out into space. She was falling toward the road. Then unfurled her wings, fast, caught the air. And began to fly.

Yea, you heard me right.

* * *

**I really hope you guys like that. Tell me what you think and if you have an ideas for the story!**


	4. MUST READ

_**READ READ READ!**_

To All Readers:

I will not continu my story until I have at least 10 reviews. Reviews really help a writer know if what she/he is writing is good and helps figure out if the diration she/he is going is what the readers like.

Plus I will be gone for a week so I can't do anything.

**Please Review! **

**~ LS7**


	5. Chapter 5

**BEFORE:**

_"Let's get her!" Max cried, then backed up about 10 feet. The others and I scurried out of her way as she ran to the edge and simply jumped out into space. She was falling toward the road. Then unfurled her wings, fast, caught the air. And began to fly._

_Yea, you heard me right.

* * *

_It pretty much went down hill from there.

Max soared up, her wings pushing down then up. Nudge went next, then Iggy, then Gassy, Fang and I went last. I fell a little longer then the others. It felt really cool, thrilling, then I stretched out my wings, sort of a light brown dusty color -hints my name- and aimed for the sky. We flew in tight formation, swerving down. Fang snatched a dead branch off a tree, and dropped straight down and smashed it against the Humvee's front windshield.

The car spun, a window rolled down. A gun poked out. All around us, trees started popping with bullets. The smell of gun smoke and hot metal filled the air. We looped back into the tree line, still tracking the car. Fang hit the windshield again. Bullets spit from several windows. Fang wisely surged away.

"Angel!" Max screamed. "We're here! We're coming to get you!"

"Up ahead," Fang called, in the clearing about 200 yards away, was a large black chopper. I saw Fang and Max come to some sort of agreement. Before they could say anything the Eraser's car braked awkwardly. The doors burst open, and an Eraser spaned out. Fang dropped on it, then recoiled with a yell, his arm dripped with blood. The Eraser sprinted to the chopper and throw himself though an opened hatch. Another Eraser leaped from the car and hurled something into the air. I heard Nudge shout something at me and grabbed Iggy's arm. I understond what she said but it was to late. A grenade exploded a few feet in front of me, the force sending me even more sky high, there was tree bark and metal everywhere, some hitting me, then I was falling. "Dusty!" someone- maybe Iggy- yelled. He caught me, I was only simicounse, but I could still feel the pain everywhere on me.

My ears were ringing and my vision was blury, but I still saw everything going on around us. The chopper was picking up speed and Max shot out from behind a tree, flying toward the Eraser who had just gotten out holding the sack with Angel in it. He threw the sack through the open door. He jumped in behind. Max sprang up and caught hold of the chopper's landing skid as it took off. She hooked one arm over it, trying to steady herself. I didn't see what happened next. All I know is that Max let go, falling fast.

She let them get away. WITH ANGEL.

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**SORRY! Sorry it took so long and it's so short. I don't have much time. PLEASE PLEASE PLLLLLLEEEEASSSE, reveiw.**

**LS**

**p.s. A fact: reveiws help a writer write faster. so REVEIW!**


	6. Chapter 6

**BEFORE:**

_I didn't see what happened next. All I know is that Max let go, falling fast._

_She let them get away. WITH ANGEL._

* * *

We all have great vision- raptor vision. It made the pain of losing Angel worse and longer as the helicopter flew away. Little Angel, that Nudge and I use to tell jokes to and talk to when we stood up late in our room. Emotional pain always felt worse than physical pain and now I felt both at once, and wished I could just drop died.

_"They have my sister!" _The Gasman howled, throwing himself down. He was only eight, yet he always tried to be the tough guy. Now he'd just seen his sister kidnapped by hell-hounds. He pounded the dirt with his fists, and Fang knelt next to him, one arm tenderly around his shoulder. I put a hand over my mouth and tried to swallow any sobs that were coming.

"Max, what are we gonna do?" Nudge's eyes were swimming with tears. "They have _Angel._"

Without a word, Max pushed off from the ground, wings out, taking off as fast as she could. We all stared after her until she was out of sight. Fang was on his feet about to take off after her. "No." I whispered. I didn't feel like I was about to fall apart anymore, just numb. "She'll come back when she feels... better. I think she wants to be alone." Fang looked at me, then knelt next to Gasser, tried to calm him down.

I realized Iggy was still holding me. I felt my face turn a little pink as I stammered, "Uh, I-Iggy, you can put me down, now I think I'm fine." Iggy seemed to notice he was holding me and set me on my feet. I was a little wobbly, but nothing I couldn't mange.

We stood there in silence. Finally I said, "Max just let go. How could she do that?"

"Maybe she had no choice." Fang answered.

"But-" I began, when I saw Max flying back to us. She looked dazed and her fist were bloody. She didn't stop, just kept flying home. We followed her.

I could barley remember the flight home. All I know was once we were in the kitchen the anguish was replaced with anger.

Iggy howled and swept his hand across the counter, catapulting a mug through the air. It hit Fang in the side of the head.

"Watch it, idiot!" he yelled furiously. Then he realized what he'd said, clenched his teeth, and rolled his eyes in frustration.

I saw tears stream down Max's face. She got the first aid kit and was patching up Gasman. I looked around for Nudge and saw curled up on the couch. For once she wasn't talking, she was crying. I walked over, sat down on the couch next to her. I put my arm across her shoulders and hugged her, making _shh_ sounds to try to get her to stop crying.

"_You_ watch it!" Iggy shouted at Fang. "What _happened?_ I mean, you guys can _see,_ can't you? Why couldn't you get Angel?"

"They had a chopper!" Gassy yelled. "And guns? We're not _bulletproof_!"

"Stop _yelling!_You're giving me a headache!" I yelled at them.

"Guys! Guys!" Max yelled. "We're all upset. But _we're _not the enemy! _They're_ the enemy."

Max started pacing. "Just- be quiet for a minute so I can think," she added calmly.

Iggy moved to the couch and almost sat on Nudge and me. We scooted to one side, and when he sat down, I put my head on his shoulder. He stroked my hair. Iggy and I were good friends, like brother and sister really. We bickered like siblings at least, but when things went wrong, I could always go to Iggy to talk to. Like now for example.

"You know, if they just wanted to kill her, or kill all of us, they could have." I said.

Nudge looked at me and agreed in a shaky voice. "Yeah, they had_ guns_. They wanted Angel _alive_ for some reason. And they didn't care if _we _lived or not. I mean, they didn't go out of their way to make _sure_ we were dead, is what we're saying."

"So I think we have to go after Angel again."

"But they were in a chopper," said Gazzy. "They're way gone. They could be anywhere." His lower lip trembled, and clenched his jaw. "Like, China or something."

Max went over and ruffled his blond hair. "I don't think they took her to China, Gazzy."

"We know where they took her." Fang's calm words fell like stones. He scraped the bottom of the can with his fork.

"Where's that?" Iggy asked, raising his head, his blind eyes bloodshot with unshed tears.

"The School," Fang and Max said at the same time.

* * *

**PLEASE PLEASE PLLLLLLEEEEASSSE, review.**

**LS**

**p.s. A fact: reviews help a writer write faster. so REVIEW!**


	7. Chapter 7

**BEFORE:**

_"We know where they took her." Fang's calm words fell like stones. _

_"Where's that?" Iggy asked._

_"The School," Fang and Max said at the same time._

Nudge gasped, her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide.

The Gasman looked scared, then tried to wipe it off his face.

I felt Iggy's spine tighten next to me. His face turned stony. When he'd been at the School, they'd tried to surgically enhance his night vision. Now he was blind forever.

I froze, trying to keep my face calm. My hand automatically went to my shoulder,where three long parallel scares stay from a time the white-coats had tried to test my fighting abilities.

"They took Angel back to the School?" Gassy asked, confused.

"I think so," Max said.

"Why?" Nudge whispered. "After four years, I thought maybe they had forgotten-"

"They want us back," said Fang.

"They'll never forget about us," I whispered.

"Jed wasn't supposed to take us out of there," Max reminded us.

"Jed knew they would do anything to get us back. If anyone ever discovered what they did to us, it would be the end of the School," Fang explained.

"Why don't we tell on them?" Nudge demanded. "We could go to a TB station and tell everyone and say, Look, they grew wings on us, and we're just little kids, and-"

"Okay, that would fix _them," _Iggy interrupted, "But _we'd _end up in a zoo."

"Or worse." I added.

"Well, what are we gonna do, then?" The Gasman was starting to sound panicky.

Fang had gotten up and left the room, and now he returned, holding a sheaf of yellowed, fading papers, The edges looked nibbled, and he shook some mouse poop off.

"Eew," Nudge, wiping her nose on her sleeve. "Eew. Was that-"

"Here," said Fang, pushing the papers at Max.

They were Jed's ancient printout files. After he disappeared, we'd cleared off his desk and shoved everything in the back of a closet so we wouldn't have to look at it all the time.

We spread the papers outon the kitchen table. Fang started to sift through the pile. He found a large manila envelope, sealed with a clump of wax. After looking at Max, catching her nod, he popped the was with his thumbnail.

"What is that?" asked the Gasman.

"Map," Fang said, pulling out a faded topographical drawing.

* * *

"Map of what?" Nudge leaned closer, peering over Fang's shoulder.

"Map of a secret facility," Max said."In California. The School."

* * *

**PLEASE PLEASE PLLLLLLEEEEASSSE, review.**

**LS**

**p.s. A fact: reviews help a writer write faster. so REVIEW!**


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